We know from official figures that 1.4 million people receive local authority funded care, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. This number is falling as eligibility criteria tightens and the number of self-funders can only be estimated.

In 2011, a Putting People First paper estimated this number to be around 39% of people in care homes and 48% of those who receive home care. Current figures do not appear to count those receiving NHS continuing care funding, so we can probably estimate the total number at more than the 2 million people mark.

The latest information from Skills for Care puts the social care workforce at 1.63 million people, all of whom are affected by high level decisions on social care.

Finally there are the unknowns, people who fail eligibility criteria or who are not in the system and those who care for them. Carers UK estimated there are 6.4 million people providing unpaid care for a loved one, so the number being cared for is arguably similar.

Allowing for some overlap this equates to around 20% of the national population – one in five people in the UK. And all of this is the responsibility of a minister of state in the Department of Health (DH).

Adult social care is a complex area. It is not all about care for the elderly (the impression we often get from high up). While elderly care is the biggest area, it also includes areas such as learning disability services – where council funded care is actually increasing – mental health services, physical disability services and so on. Each one of these areas has its own challenges and demands and while health is a key component of social care, it is not the only one.

Housing is an important area is welfare and benefits, especially in these times of welfare cuts where the most vulnerable could be affected. For those under the age of 65 who need social care services, employment is also an issue; Remploy is one of many examples.

Social care is, perhaps, the forgotten area of social policy. Many social issues have a long history of reform and growth in importance. Many of these date back to the late 19th century and have developed since that time. Social care, however, is a much more recent addition that has grown over the last 60 years or so without any real reform or ideological discourse.

When the old age pension was introduced life expectancy was such that people would only draw the pension for two or three years. As life expectancy has increased the demand for support and care services has grown, not just among the general population but also people with learning disabilities are living longer than ever as are those with physical disabilities.

Imagine education being relegated to a minister of state in the Department for Communities and Local Government or work and pensions being relegated to a minister of state in the Treasury, there would be an outcry. Yet it is acceptable to have social care, which affects so many lives, relegated to a minister of state.

Having a cabinet minister for social care would begin the process of raising the profile of social care and begin the real job of creating a social care system that meets the needs of so many people. Surely it is better to have a minister at the cabinet table to argue the case with the Treasury for social care funding, to have specific social care questions addressed in the House of Commons rather than as an add-on to health, and to have a ministerial department that covers all aspects of social care rather than leaving everything to junior ministerial staff.